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Continents of the World/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby Tim and Moby are on an airplane. A flight attendant pushes a cart down the plane's aisle. TIM: Excuse me, may I please have another bag of almonds? MOBY: Beep? TIM: Oh, and can he go up and meet the pilots?The flight attendant looks at Moby, then shoves the bag of almonds and a letter in front of Tim. Tim reads from the typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, What exactly is a continent? Thanks, Jerry. Moby looks out the plane’s window and points to something. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, I'm sure it is. Moby continues to look at something out side of the plane. MOBY: Beep. TIM: I'll take your word for it. A continent is a large area of land with distinct geographic borders, like mountains or oceans. MOBY: Beep. TIM: No, it's not a very precise definition. In fact, not everyone agrees about the number of continents on Earth. A map shows the earth's land and ocean masses with a question mark over them. TIM: In the U.S., we teach that there are seven. A map shows the seven continents. TIM: In other countries, many students are taught that there are six. North and South America are counted as one. The map shows the Americas as one continent. TIM: We're gonna focus on the seven-continent model. The map goes back to showing seven continents. TIM: It includes: North America, South America, Antarctica, Africa, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Each continent on the map is labeled with its name. TIM: The United States is on the continent of North America. North America also includes Canada, Mexico, Greenland, the countries of Central America, and the Caribbean islands. All of the countries and areas Tim mentions are labeled on a map. TIM: It has the most varied climate of any continent. Frozen tundras, lush forests, deserts, and mountain ranges…Pretty much every ecosystem is represented here!Images show the landscapes of each climate type Tim mentions. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Just to the south of Central America is the continent of South America. A map shows South America. TIM: There's lots of cool stuff to see in South America: the Amazon River, the Andes mountain range, and the largest tropical rainforest on Earth. The map shows the Amazon River stretching across the northern part of South America, the Amazon Rainforest surrounding the river, and the Andes Mountains along the west coast. Other images show their landscapes. TIM: Below the southern tip of South America, there's Antarctica. The map shows Antarctica. TIM: Antarctica's the only continent with no permanent residents. The population equals zero, except for a handful of scientists. It's the coldest, windiest continent, with average temperatures way below zero. More than half of the world's fresh water is locked in Antarctica's thick ice sheet! Tim stands in front of a structure for scientists that do geological research on Antarctica. A penguin walks over to Tim. PENGUIN: Hey dude. TIM: Um, hey. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Moving north, we come to Africa, the second-biggest continent on Earth. It's home to the largest desert, the Sahara; the longest river, the Nile; and the biggest savannas, tropical grasslands. A map of the continent shows the Sahara in northern Africa, the Nile in eastern Africa, and the savannas in central and southern Africa. Other images show the landscapes of each. TIM: It's also where most scientists think the first human beings appeared a long, long time ago. Every single one of us has ancestors in Africa, if you go back far enough. An animation shows a prehistoric man and woman walking in the grasslands. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Uh, no, maybe not you. Anyway, north of Africa is Europe. It's small, but it's the most densely populated continent in the world. It contains close to 50 countries, each with its own laws and customs. A map of Europe is covered in figures representing the dense population. It also shows the boundaries of each country in Europe. TIM: They're packed so close together, you can see a crazy mix of beautiful old cities in just a few days: Rome, Paris, London, Prague, and dozens more. Images show Colosseum in Rome, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Big Ben in London, and Charles Bridge in Prague. TIM: East of Europe is Asia, the largest continent of them all. It's home to both the highest point on Earth, Mount Everest, and the lowest point, on the shores of the Dead Sea. A map of Asia shows the locations of Mount Everest in the Himalayas, and the Dead Sea. Other images show each landscape. TIM: It's also got a bigger population than any other continent—about 60 percent of all the people on Earth live in Asia! A map of Asia is covered in figures representing the large population. TIM: It's home to literally thousands of different cultures and languages. Images show various landmarks of Asia. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Uh, I don't know how many robots, but probably a lot of those, too. Southeast of Asia is the smallest continent, Australia. A map shows Australia. TIM: It's home to some of the weirdest animals on Earth, including the duck-billed platypus.An animation shows Tim backpacking in Australia. A koala sits in a tree as a kangaroo hops in the background. A platypus scurries out of a bush. PLATYPUS: Oi! TIM: Right. Anyway, Australia includes the country Australia, plus the island of New Guinea. A map shows New Guinea, north of Australia. TIM: That leaves out New Zealand and 11 other countries. We lump all of the South Pacific countries and islands into a geographic region called Oceania. Although in some parts of the world, Oceania is considered a continent, not Australia. A map labels the islands of Oceania. TIM: So there you have it, the continents of the world. Moby gets back into his seat on the plane. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Did you get to meet the pilots?Moby shakes his head, no. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Just the autopilots? 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